His name was LL Cool J and he was the hottest, most versatile rapper around. Capable of appealing to the hard rocks and the ladies, the pop fans and the underground cats. His songs had choruses and hooks, but he didn’t sacrifice lyrical agility for commercial success. And when hip-hop fans started to think that he was about to fall off back in the early Nineties, he hit them with the album of his career: “Mama Said Knock You Out”. He was arrogant yet humble, dangerous yet approachable, undeniably talented…
Ahhh…remember that brief moment in the mid Nineties when female-fronted rock bands were the rage? The emergence of the riot-grrl movement went hand in hand with the first wave of bands inspired by mixed-gender ensembles like The Pixies, and ushered in a new age of women who aren’t afraid to pick up their guitars and rock out with their co…hmmm, perhaps I should rephrase that.
In the spirit of those bands (and in an age where we seem to need them more than ever, since most women in pop and rock have put down the guitars and adjusted the push-up bras), I introduce you to Nightwood. They rock. They contain 2 girls (who sing and play guitars) and a guy (who plays drums). They’re Canadian. Granted, our neighbors to the north have given us Celine Dion and Nickelback, but they’ve also given us Neil Young and Joni Mitchell! And Rush! I’m not quite sure why I’m making these comparisons…they sound nothing like any of those artists. Totally indie, totally cool, and maybe a little bit strange, this band’s music is definitely worth a listen to those of us who crave a little adventure in our musical excursions. It’s a little Pixie-tastic mixed with some Breeder-ific with a little bit of Sleater-Kinney-ness mixed in.
If that doesn’t grab you, maybe the fact that member Amber Goodwyn runs a “pansexual smut zine” (their words, not mine) called lickety split (be forewarned…there be naughty bits there!!-18 and over please) might turn your crank. Either way, these folks are a welcome dose of offbeat from the country that gave us Anne Murray and Alan Thicke.
You can check out their debut, “Big City E.P.” on your local digital music retailer (wait, there’s no such thing as a “local” digital music retailer…buy it on iTunes or Napster). While you’re at it, you might also want to check out their site.
Hey! They also have a video!! Watch “Cave of the Spleen” below:
How many bands these days can go five songs deep on an album? You’ve gotta hand it to Adam Levine and company for making one of the better pop albums of the past 2 years or so with “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”. There have also been a couple of interesting videos, such as the airport fantasy of “Makes Me Wonder” and the mini-action movie of “Wake Up Call”. Their last single, “If I Never See Your Face Again” was a funked-up jam that featured an unnecessarily shoehorned-in Rihanna, and now they’re back in ballad territory with “Goodnight, Goodnight”.
This was always one of my least favorite songs from the album, partially because the lyrics are a bit trite, partially because the song’s into rips off 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite” (seriously…no one recognized the similarity?), but it’s grown on me significantly over the past couple weeks. And while I’d have much rather seen “Can’t Stop”, “Nothing Lasts Forever” or “Better That We Break” released as singles, I’ve also gotta admit that this is a pretty good video. Check it out for yourself.
